Malaysian' small and medium enterprises' (SMEs) perceived challenges associated to internationalisation activity: a reflection on the belt and road initiative (BRI)

Abstract

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that launched by the Chinese government has gained the attention of the world since the introduction of it by President Xi Jinping in 2013. Regardless the promising associated economic and non-economic related benefit, this Initiative gas also been regarded as something of a double-edged sword, which potentially presents risks caused by the poor economic fundamentals and weak domestic institutions of their major participating countries due to high debt burdens involving in fiscal risks. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the perceived challenges of Malaysian Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), particularly on their internationalisation activities associated with the BRI. Interestingly, both perceived financial and non-financial challenges are pretty huge. Hence, implications of study have been discussed and suggestions are provided to both policy makers and market practitioners. The discussion of this paper ended with research limitations and recommendations for future studies.